Girls Hockey -- Warriors run into a hot goalie, tie Fairfield

Published 7:00 pm, Wednesday, December 16, 2009

SHELTON -- It looks as though the skate has been laced up on the other foot now.

Much in the way the Wilton girls hockey team is catching up on many of the FCIAC teams that beat it a year ago, the teams the Warriors defeated last winter are catching up with the pack, as well.

Nowhere was that more evident than on Monday night at The Rinks in Shelton where the Fairfield co-op team bounced back from a two-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 tie against Wilton in game two of the Warriors sophomore season as a varsity squad.

"I think we came in here a little too sure of ourselves," said Lara Schnitzler, a junior who scored a short-handed goal in the second period to give Wilton a 2-0 lead. We talked about it in the locker room. We thought it would be an easy win. We've learned our lesson. The teams that didn't do well last year, including us, have gotten better."

Wilton goaltender Emily Tucker had already turned aside six shots in the first period before the Warriors got off their first shot.

That shot, taken by Sammi Blicht after carrying the puck down the right boards, gave Wilton a 1-0 lead just 5:34 into the first period.

"First goal, in any game, gets the momentum going," said Blicht. "That's what we try to do ... get some shots, eventually get the goal and that gets your team pumping and the blood flowing. The energy goes up and you keep going harder and harder."

The Warriors didn't score again until Schnitzler notched her short-handed tally early in the second period, giving the Warriors a 2-0 lead.

Fairfield -- which lost to Wilton twice last season -- refused to tilt.

Fairfield got the first goal back on a weird bounce turnover by the Warriors as Alana Scharlop beat Warrior goaltender Tucker to make it 2-1.

"You never want to give up short-handed goals because those can be back-breakers," said Fairfield coach Paul Kelly. "But I thought our girls had a really good shift there and we got one in there and it allowed us to get back into the game.'

Fairfield then dominated a three-minute shift, during which Tucker lost her stick and borrowed one from Christie Huidekoper, who in turn later borrowed Jessica Moh's stick as play kept going and Wilton avoided a Fairfield goal.

Tucker made three saves during the flurry to keep the Warriors in the lead.

On the very next shift, however, a mix-up the blue line allowed Fairfield's Andie Greenwald to pick up a puck and skate in to tie the game at 2-2 with 4:35 to play.

"It's frustrating and I told them that, too," said Wilton head coach Kerry Leonard. "As a player, I don't like to tie and as a coach it's definitely frustrating, especially because we were up 2-0."

Wilton then dominated the third period, firing up to 15 shots on goal, according to Wilton's "official" book -- but the Warriors couldn't push the puck past Gabriel.

"It was frustrating because we had so many opportunities. It was annoying, but what can you do?" Schnitzler said. "We had a bunch of good shots. A goalie can make a whole game and if it's not your night, there's nothing you can do about it."

The way Wilton played in the third period, constantly peppering Fairfield with shots and pressure, pleased Leonard -- even if the final score didn't.

"I'm proud of them for the way we didn't give up," Leonard said. "We out-shot them in the third period, but you have to give their goalie her due. We did make her look good at times, but I don't want to take anything away from her. She's stepped into a huge role for their team."

Wilton goaltender Tucker made 16 saves for the Warriors.

"Obviously, not every night can be a shutout as much as I want it to be and as much as our team wants it to be," Tucker said. "But we're a new team -- we knew that coming out of the jamboree -- and we're going to make some strides this year and take it to a whole new level."

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And from here on out the Warriors will remember that other teams are doing the same thing.